Computer-Implemented apparatus and method for generating a tailored promotion

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus and method is provided. The apparatus includes a connection to the distributed communication network and a consumer information storage, the consumer information storage including a consumer identifier storage, at least one site identifier, and including for each site a consumer identifier activity information pertaining to visited websites, wherein the electronic commerce apparatus receives the activity information, stores the activity information in the consumer information storage, and uses the activity information to create a tailored promotion and to present the tailored promotion to the consumer upon the consumer&#39;s visit to a second website. One embodiment of the method includes the steps of obtaining an activity information of a consumer when the consumer visits a first website, storing consumer preference information contained in the activity information, receiving a consumer web request for a second website, creating a tailored promotion for the consumer from the preference information, and presenting the tailored promotion to the consumer at the second website.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a tailored promotionpresented to a prospective customer, and more particularly to a tailoredpromotion presented to a prospective customer at an electronic commercesite.

[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art

[0004] Electronic commerce is the transaction of commerce through anelectronic medium, such as a distributed communication network. A commonsuch network is the Internet, but may also include other common digitaland computer networks such as a local area network (LAN), wide-areanetwork (WAN), or a virtual private network (VPN), for example. As themost widespread and popular distributed communication network, theInternet will be used in all further discussion.

[0005] The Internet has become very popular for electronic commerce,with merchants electronically advertising and selling a wide variety ofgoods and services. The Internet has also proven to be a valuable toolfor advertising and for building name or brand recognition, andtherefore for establishing or increasing market share.

[0006] Current statistics show that electronic commerce is growing at avery rapid pace, and appears to be on track to achieve a respectableshare of the total market in goods and services. Current estimates arethat over 70 million Americans have Internet access, with this numberprojected to soon reach about 150 million. As a result, Internetadvertising revenues reached $1.92 billion in 1998, and are expected tocontinue growing at a substantial rate.

[0007] Several traditional marketing approaches exist. In onetraditional approach, a merchant may simply display goods and serviceson an electronic commerce site and simply wait for prospective customersto happen across the site.

[0008] Another traditional approach is the marketing promotion.Traditional marketing promotions generally operate on an assembly lineapproach. They generate a one-size-fits-all advertising theme andcampaign, and aim the message at a large pool of prospective customers.The traditional approach works on the theory that if enough peoplereceive the message, an acceptable percentage will be receptive andpurchase the advertised goods and services. This is reflected on theInternet by so-called banner ads, that typically reside on a website andare displayed to all viewers of the website.

[0009] The assembly line approach works, but is not terribly efficient.First, by broadcasting a message to all available recipients, thetraditional approach risks offending prospective customers by subjectingthem to advertising campaigns on a large number of items they are notinterested in. Second, by simply cranking out a uniform message to alarge mass, the traditional approach is distracted from and overlookssmaller groups of likely and receptive prospects. Third, the assemblyline approach may involve extra cost in targeting and reaching largenumbers of unreceptive persons.

[0010] There remains a need in the art, therefore, for improvements inelectronic commerce to present a tailored promotion to a visitor to anelectronic commerce site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus forgenerating a tailored promotion to a consumer over a distributedcommunication network is provided according to a first aspect of theinvention. The electronic commerce apparatus comprises a connection tothe distributed communication network and a consumer informationstorage, the consumer information storage including a consumeridentifier storage, at least one site identifier, and including for eachsite a consumer identifier activity information pertaining to visitedwebsites, wherein the electronic commerce apparatus receives theactivity information, stores the activity information in the consumerinformation storage, and uses the activity information to create atailored promotion and to present the tailored promotion to the consumerupon the consumer's visit to a second or subsequent website.

[0012] A computer-implemented electronic commerce method for generatinga tailored promotion to a consumer over a distributed communicationnetwork is provided according to a second aspect of the invention. Theelectronic commerce method comprises the steps of obtaining an activityinformation of a consumer when the consumer visits a first website,storing consumer preference information contained in the activityinformation, receiving a consumer web request for a second website,creating a tailored promotion for the consumer from the preferenceinformation, and presenting the tailored promotion to the consumer atthe second website.

[0013] A computer-implemented electronic commerce method for generatinga tailored promotion to a consumer over a distributed communicationnetwork is provided according to a third aspect of the invention. Theelectronic commerce method comprises the steps of storing a consumeridentifier contained in an activity information of the consumer, storinga website identifier for each website stored in the activityinformation, storing a web pages visited information, if any, for eachwebsite, storing a products reviewed information, if any, for eachwebsite, storing a purchases made information, if any, for each website,receiving a consumer web request for a second website, creating atailored promotion for the consumer from the preference information, andpresenting the tailored promotion to the consumer at the second website.

[0014] The above and other features and advantages of the presentinvention will be further understood from the following description ofthe preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 shows a cookie file of a type commonly created and used byan Internet browser;

[0016] FIGS. 2A-2D show basic operations in the creation and maintenanceof a cookie file;

[0017]FIG. 3 shows a computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus300 of the present invention;

[0018]FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method of thepresent invention; and

[0019]FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a second embodiment of the method ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020]FIG. 1 shows a cookie file 101 of a type commonly created and usedby an Internet browser. Users on the Internet typically use a browser tomove between websites on the World Wide Web. A browser is simply asoftware package that interfaces with the Internet to send and receivedata and to allow users to easily move between websites. When a userwants to go to a certain website, he or she merely enters an address orclicks on a link. A web request is transmitted to the specified website,and the website responds by transmitting back the data that forms thespecified website page (i.e., web page) on the requester's computer.

[0021] A cookie file is a file on a user's computer that can be used byvisited websites (i.e., requested websites) to store information on theuser's computer. Each website that a user visits may therefore installdata on the user's computer in the cookie file. The user does not seethis transaction and does not know it is occurring. A website typicallystores preference information in the cookie file, including particularuser settings or configurations, registration information and passwords(if used or required by a website), on-line shopping cart data, activityinformation about the user's activities on the website, etc. A cookiefile is therefore used by a website to store information about the userfor future reference. Not only that, but a website may extract furtherinformation such as buying habits and preferences for certain goods andservices.

[0022] FIGS. 2A-2D show basic operations in the creation and maintenanceof a cookie file. In FIG. 2A, a consumer sends a web request to a firstwebsite. This may be done on typical browsers by entering a websiteaddress or by clicking on a link. A message is thereby sent to the firstwebsite, requesting a data transfer of information at the specifiedaddress and web page.

[0023] In FIG. 2B the first website transmits a response. The responsemay include an entry to be inserted into the cookie file on theconsumer's computer (however, not all websites do so). The consumer doesnot see this transaction and does not participate in any way.

[0024] In FIG. 2C, when the consumer visits a second website, the secondwebsite may also request the cookie file.

[0025] In FIG. 2D, the second website may update the cookie file on theconsumer's computer by placing a new entry (or updating an existing one)in the cookie file. Of course, the first website may also update its ownprevious entry or may add new entries. In this manner, any websitevisited by the consumer may store information for future use by thewebsite.

[0026]FIG. 3 shows a computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus300 of the present invention. The apparatus 300 is connected to adistributed communications network, such as the Internet 303. TheInternet 303 may be additionally connected to any number of websites,such as a first website 306 and a second website 307, and may beconnected to any number of consumers 309. The apparatus 300 maytherefore communicate with other users and other computers connected tothe Internet 303.

[0027] The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus 300 mayinclude a consumer information storage 315, a database of subscribers325, and a database of promotions 327. The consumer information storage315 may include, for each consumer stored on the electronic commerceapparatus 300, a consumer identifier storage 316, a site visitedidentifier 317, a site pages visited storage 318, a products reviewedstorage 319, and a purchases made storage 320, zip code or other addressinformation,

[0028] The consumer information storage 315 contains one or moreentries, corresponding to one or more consumers. The consumerinformation storage 315 may be constructed to expand greatly toaccommodate new entries as more consumer preference information isgathered. One complete entry is shown for the purpose of illustration.

[0029] The consumer identifier storage 316 may contain an identifierunique to each consumer stored on the electronic commerce apparatus 300.The identifier may be assigned, or may be an identifier that was givenby the website that created the original cookie file entry.

[0030] The site visited identifier 317 may be an identifier given toeach visited website. Each consumer may have multiple site visitedidentifiers 317 reflecting all sites visited by the particular consumer.

[0031] The site pages visited storage 318 may record all web pages on awebsite that have been visited by the particular consumer. The sitepages visited storage 318 may also include information such as a numberof repeat visits, dwell time on each page, etc.

[0032] The products reviewed storage 319 may contain information onoffered goods and services reviewed by the consumer. If the consumer hasbeen looking around at information on new car models, for example, thatinformation may be present in the products reviewed storage 319 andcould be used to infer that the consumer is interested in buying a newcar.

[0033] The purchases made storage 320 may contain information on goodsand services purchase by the consumer. This information likewise may beused to tailor a promotion to a consumer.

[0034] The database of subscribers 325 may contain all subscribers forwhom the electronic commerce apparatus 300 may create a tailoredpromotion. A subscriber may retain the electronic commerce apparatus 300to generate and present promotions to visitors to the subscriber'swebsite, with such a promotion targeted to the particular consumer'slikes and needs. Therefore, a subscriber may more efficiently employpromotions, and may increase sales, as visitors to the subscriber'swebsite may only receive promotions that are tailored to his or herdesires and needs.

[0035] The database of promotions 327 may contain all goods and serviceswhich a particular subscriber offers. The database of promotions 327 maytherefore be used to tailor a promotion to each visitor to a website ofa particular subscriber.

[0036]FIG. 4 shows a flowchart 400 of a first embodiment of a method ofthe present invention. In step 402, a consumer web request is receivedat a first website. The first website may or may not be participating ina tailored promotion with the electronic commerce apparatus 300.

[0037] In step 405, in response to the consumer's web request, the firstwebsite retrieves the consumer's cookie file from the consumer'scomputer.

[0038] In step 407, the first website stores the preference informationreceived from the consumer's computer.

[0039] In step 410, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 detects aconsumer web request at a second website that is a subscriber of theelectronic commerce apparatus 300. The electronic commerce apparatus 300may thereupon generate a tailored promotion (assuming that the consumerhas a cookie file). The electronic commerce apparatus puts the cookie onthe user's file and shares the cookie across websites.

[0040] In step 412, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 may generate atailored promotion using preference information from the consumer'scookie file. The promotion may offer goods or services that the consumeris receptive to, based on the preference information.

[0041] In step 416, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 presents thetailored promotion to the consumer, at the second website. The secondwebsite is preferably a subscriber of the electronic commerce apparatus300. The electronic commerce apparatus also stores results of thepromotions for consumers, which information also can be used to tailoradditional promotions.

[0042]FIG. 5 shows a flowchart 500 of a second embodiment of the methodof the present invention. In step 503, the electronic commerce apparatus300 stores a consumer identifier received from a cookie file. The cookiefile may have been acquired through a web request from a consumer, maybe obtained through a list purchase of cookie file information from adealer in such information, or in other ways. The apparatus enablesadaptive use of the collected data as time goes on, by analyzing theconsumer's behavior as reflected in the data accumulated in the cookiefiles.

[0043] In step 507, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 stores awebsite identifier for each website visited by the consumer.

[0044] In step 513, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 stores a webpages visited information for all recorded web pages visited by theconsumer at each website (i.e., each consumer may have visited multiplepages on a website and may have visited multiple websites).

[0045] In step 516, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 storesinformation regarding goods and services reviewed by the consumer.Additionally, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 may recordstatistics such as the time spent looking at a particular good orservice, price range of reviewed product, type of reviewed product, etc.

[0046] In step 519, the electronic commerce apparatus 300 storesinformation regarding purchases of goods and services. The purchaseinformation may be useful in predicting future purchases and may beuseful in presenting tailored promotions.

[0047] In step 522, for a particular consumer, if more websites visitedinformation exists, the method branches back to step 507. Else, themethod proceeds to step 528.

[0048] In step 528, the method waits for a subscriber website to receivea web request. It should be understood that although steps 528-536 areshown as occurring after steps 503-522, steps 528-536 occurindependently and may occur at any time in relation to steps 503-522. Ifa web request is received, the method proceeds to step 534, and thesubscriber website sends to the electronic commerce apparatus theconsumer ID of the requester.

[0049] In step 534, a tailored promotion is created from storedpreference information (if any) of the consumer as indicated by theconsumer ID transmitted to the electronic commerce apparatus by thewebsite.

[0050] In step 536, the tailored promotion is transmitted by theelectronic commerce apparatus to the subscriber website, where it ispresented to the consumer at the subscriber website.

[0051] While the invention has been described in detail above, theinvention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments asdescribed. It is evident that those skilled in the art may now makenumerous uses and modifications of and departures from the specificembodiments described herein without departing from the inventiveconcepts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented electronic commerceapparatus for generating a tailored promotion to a consumer over adistributed communication network, comprising: a connection to saiddistributed communication network; and a consumer information storage,said consumer information storage including a consumer identifierstorage for identifying individual consumers, at least one network siteidentifier for identifying a commercial site on said network, andincluding for each network site consumer identifier activity informationpertaining to network sites accessed by said individual consumers andassociated with individual consumers; wherein said electronic commerceapparatus receives said activity information, stores said activityinformation in said consumer information storage by individual consumer,and uses said activity information to create a tailored promotion and topresent said tailored promotion to said consumer at a particular networksite upon said consumer's visit to a said network site.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1, furtherincluding a database of promotions which are selected among in order tocreate said tailored promotion.
 3. The computer-implemented electroniccommerce apparatus of claim 1, further including a database ofsubscribers to said tailored promotion.
 4. The computer-implementedelectronic commerce apparatus of claim 3, wherein said particularnetwork site is a subscriber and is listed in said database ofsubscribers.
 5. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatusof claim 1, wherein said distributed communication network is theInternet.
 6. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said activity information is obtained from a cookiefile stored on said consumer's computer.
 7. The computer-implementedelectronic commerce apparatus of claim 1, wherein said activityinformation includes a pages visited information.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid activity information includes a products and services reviewedinformation.
 9. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatusof claim 1, wherein said activity information includes a purchases madeinformation.
 10. The computer-implemented electronic commerce apparatusof claim 1, wherein said electronic commerce apparatus receives saidactivity information from a consumer's computer upon a visit by saidconsumer to a first network site.
 11. A computer-implemented electroniccommerce method for generating a tailored promotion to a consumer over adistributed communication network, comprising the steps of: obtaining anactivity information of a consumer when said consumer visits a firstnetwork site; storing consumer preference information contained in saidactivity information; receiving a consumer web request for access to asecond network site; creating a tailored promotion for said consumerfrom said preference information; and presenting said tailored promotionto said consumer at said second network site.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce method of claim 11, whereinsaid activity information is obtained from a cookie file stored on saidconsumer's computer.
 13. The computer-implemented electronic commercemethod of claim 11, wherein said second network site is a subscriber tosaid computer-implemented electronic commerce method.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce method of claim 11, whereinsaid storing step further includes the steps of: storing a consumeridentifier; storing a network site identifier for a website stored insaid cookie file; storing a pages visited information for said networksite; storing a products reviewed information for said network site; andstoring a purchases made information for said network site.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce method of claim 11, whereinsaid distributed communication network is the Internet.
 16. Acomputer-implemented electronic commerce method for generating atailored promotion to a consumer over a distributed communicationnetwork, comprising the steps of: storing a consumer identifiercontained in an activity information of said consumer; storing a networksite identifier for each network site stored in said activityinformation; storing a pages visited information, if any, for said eachnetwork site; storing a products reviewed information, if any, for saideach network site; storing a purchases made information, if any, forsaid each network site; receiving a consumer request for a particularnetwork site; creating a tailored promotion for said consumer from saidpreference information; and presenting said tailored promotion to saidconsumer at said particular network site.
 17. The computer-implementedelectronic commerce method of claim 16, further including thepreliminary step of obtaining an activity information of a consumer whensaid consumer visits a first network site.
 18. The computer-implementedelectronic commerce method of claim 16, wherein said activityinformation is obtained from a cookie file stored on said consumer'scomputer.
 19. The computer-implemented electronic commerce method ofclaim 16, wherein said activity information is purchased.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented electronic commerce method of claim 16, whereinsaid second website is a subscriber to said computer-implementedelectronic commerce method.
 21. The computer-implemented electroniccommerce method of claim 16, wherein said distributed communicationnetwork is the Internet.